


Buried in the Sand

by ambivalentlangst



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Red paladin!Lance, everyone's platonic in this, for a request, homesick Lance, impulsive lance, it's there so, not really a major thing but, platonic Pidgance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 17:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13345827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambivalentlangst/pseuds/ambivalentlangst
Summary: When the walls of the castle close in and memories of waves lap at Lance's mind, a foreign beach with his new family makes it all better.





	Buried in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Made to fill the following request:
> 
> Okokokok how about some lance in the castleship doing impulse-controlled things. Let me explain: at late hrs in the night(like rn cuz it 4 am already) i always get these urges to just,, go outside and run and breathe the air and listen to everyting and make noise and scr e am. I think it might be influenced by my lowkey depression but its still something id like to see. Bonus points if u make it sad, add lots of sensory cues and the team somehow finds him thanks love ya bYe!!
> 
> Enjoy, and to send me a request you can catch me on my Tumblr (ambivalentlangst)!

Lance screamed. It wasn’t of pain or anger or horror, nothing like that. Just a creeping sense of unease that he didn’t know how to channel. He had no explanation, other than he felt so tight and stiff inside and he couldn’t find any way to let it out. Everything was just so stifling during the day, all the smiles that made his cheeks hurt and the way he felt holed up in his lion, waiting to stretch and run and just have time for himself for god’s sake.

His chest heaved, staring out the window of one of the smaller observation decks on the ship. It was a safe distance from the rooms where nobody would find him. He still didn’t feel satisfied, and it drove him absolutely out of his mind in a way he couldn’t explain. He felt like there was a static in his ears, hot and tenacious and not even overwhelming but it was there and he couldn’t escape. Lance ground his teeth together, hating the chalky and yet wet scrape from the feeling.

It wasn’t that he was unhappy, he really wasn’t. He loved helping people and seeing new things, flying amongst the stars. He loved being a paladin most of the time, but there occasionally was just something about the confines of his task in the universe and the recycled air of the castle that make his skin crawl. He was tired of holding still, but nothing helped. He already ran and kicked and hit until his skin was red and stinging, and there was even a bit of copper on his palette from where he’d accidentally bit his lip. Nothing. He let a small growl of frustration fall from his lips, as he pulled himself to his feet and yanked his hoodie down over his head. He didn’t want to look at anything but his shoes, which were kind of calming in their steady tread that was leading him to Red’s hangar. He wasn’t going to do anything drastic, but he thought if he had to stay in the castle for one more second he was going to short circuit. 

Red poked at him in his mind, lazily wondering what he was doing as he climbed into her cockpit and wrapped his long fingers around her controls. He merely sighed, the action laced through with his restlessness and want for contentment.

“I don’t know,” he grumbled, as the stars flew past and he looked to nearby planet. By his readings, it was safe to land on. It even had an ocean, and that made up Lance’s mind very quickly. Red was a creature of fire, but she made none of her usual complaints about Lance’s affinity for water. She landed easily in the sand, her normal intensity calmed for the moment as she reassured Lance that she’d be waiting whenever he was ready. He smiled and bent down to kiss one of her claws, and then strode off down the beach. 

He hadn’t bothered to change into his armor, even that was too stifling. He’d actually thrown it earlier, desperate to do something that was satisfying. The sound it made as it clattered to the floor only irritated him further. For now, he let himself settle onto the beach. The water was clear and the sand was a little more grey than tan under the light of the foreign moon, but Lance would take what he could get. He spread his limbs out, aching to bury his fingers and heels into the sand, just be for awhile. The damp air felt good going in and out of his lungs, but there was a coldness inside him Lance couldn’t banish.

The beach had brought him back to thoughts of home, of sitting out on a picnic blankets with snacks and his siblings, enjoying the salt and spray of the water they’d all been raised on. Lance smiled, despite the faint traces of sadness to the twist of his lips. His eyes felt a little wet, but Lance didn’t pay that much attention. For the moment, it wasn’t too important. Not until he heard another creature stalking down the beach towards him, and he realized that perhaps he should’ve brought his bayard with him for good measure. He leaned up slowly, surveying the area, but felt the wariness leave him when he saw the reflection of Pidge’s glasses and her caramel hair making their way down the beach. He wiped his eyes, looking to her.

“Pidgey, what are you doing here?” he asked as she settled in next to him. She scoffed, raising an eyebrow to look at Lance.

“What, you thought I was just gonna’ let you take off in Red by yourself? I saw you heading to the hangar, and I followed.” She shoved Lance’s shoulder, but she was silent for a moment as they both stared at the calm rise and fall of the waves. “Are you okay?” Lance smiled fondly, touched by the action, especially knowing that Pidge wasn’t all that great with emotions.

“Fine. Just pent up energy, I guess. Missing home.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  
  


A little more of the quiet, comfortable between the two of them. They were content to take in the salt in the air, to feel the cool ground beneath them and to just be, and Lance was reminded of his family again. The way they’d do the same.

“My family used to come out to the beach a lot. We’d play all day, and then it was night we’d all just sit together and stare at the stars and the surf. It was nice that way, just happy to be with one another. I miss them.” His eyes were a little misty again, but Pidge didn’t tease.

“You’ll get back to them, Lance. I’m sure of it.” His blue eyes slid to her, a wry smile on his lips.

“Thanks, Pidge.”

There was nothing more said from there. Even though Lance knew Pidge hated the beach–they’d argued over it more than once–she stayed put and slowly leant into his side. That felt nice. He didn’t see the dim glow of her phone as she pulled it out and sent a quick message back to the castle, but the surprise as each of the members of his new family settled in beside them was nice. With his the ocean to his front and his family all around, Lance had some peace.


End file.
